The Canberra Raiders NYC team have endured a tough afternoon after being blown off the park by a red hot Parramatta Eels outfit 50-10.
Parramatta came into the game needing a win by 30 or more points to move into fourth place on the ladder, they were ruthless in attack and outmuscled our boys who missed Luke Bateman after the captain went down in the third minute.
Lachlan Lewis was named man of the match in the final game of the year and he looks like a really bright prospect for the future.
Ryan Matterson opened the scoring for the visitors with a strong run with the try being converted by Nathan Davis. Of concern for the Raiders was Luke Bateman being stretchered off the field in a neck brace following the try.
The Eels then rallied in the absence of the Canberra leader with two quick tries to Halauafu Lavaka and Tyrell Fuimaono. Davis missed one of the conversions but the Eels had already raced away to a 16-0 lead after just 12 minutes.
Our boys then had some quality ball but were unable to break down a strong Parramatta defence that was looking to atone for two consecutive losses.
It proved costly as the Eels extended their lead thanks to a try from Zach Dockar-Clay Davis converted the try to take the Eels out to a 22 point lead after 23 minutes.
Desperate not to let the game slip the Raiders hit back through a strong run from Kilu Pangai who was following up on his good form from last week. Patrick Mago converted the try to bring the Eels lead back to 16.
Parramatta hit back straight away through Israel Folau’s little brother John with Davis converting the try to reinstate the Eels 22 point lead. It stayed that way with the Raiders heading into the sheds at half time with the work ahead of them down 28-6.
Quick tries to Folau and Fabian Goodall extended the Eels lead further after the break taking the score to 38-6 after 54 minutes.
Lavaka looked to have secured the top try scorer award when he crossed in the corner, but the referee had ruled there was an obstruction in the lead up to the try. Pangai was causing a number for headaches for the Eels and made a strong run in the lead up to a good try to Mitchell Barnett. Mago missed the conversion leaving the Eels lead the scores at 38-10.
Two quick tries to Leva Li and Matterson snuffed out any chance of a Raiders comeback with the score blowing out to a comprehensive 40 point lead for the visitors with five minutes to go in the game.
Our boys were struggling in the absence of Luke Bateman who had been outstanding for the Raiders since coming back from Souths Logan. Pangai more than stood up in his absence but the boys struggled to deal with the size of the Parramatta squad who just simply outmuscled us.
Parramatta moved into the top four via the win but our boys can hold their heads high following a gutsy effort against a really quality outfit.
Parramatta Eels 50
Tries: Folau 2, Matterson 2, Lavaka, Fuimaono, Dockar-Clay, Li; Davis 7 goals
Defeated
Canberra Raiders 10
Tries: Pangai, Barnett; Mago 1 goal
